List of APC chairmanship, councillorship candidates now with LASIEC —Afikuyomi

Tokunbo Afikuyomi

Lagos State chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) said on Sunday that list of candidates contesting on its platform for chairmanship and councillorship seats in the July 22, 2017 local government election has been submitted to the State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) following successful completion of the party primary that produced those candidates.

This is just as the party admitted the exercise had witnessed some hitches, which it described as normal in any democratic arrangement, declaring that no system was devoid of its problems and challenges.

Chairman, State Election Committee 2017 of APC, Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi, stated this in a press statement made available to newsmen, further declaring that the process of choosing candidates for the coming election in all the 20 Local Governments (LGs), 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) and 377 wards in the state had been successfully completed and all the party’s chairmanship and councillorship candidates had emerged.


“We have forwarded our list of candidates to Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission in conformity with election guidelines. I congratulate the leadership and teeming APC members for this achievement,” Afikuyomi said.

Speaking on the process adopted by party, Senator Afikuyomi said the APC Constitution provided for both direct and indirect primaries to pick the candidates, disclosing that the party leadership in its wisdom opted for a combination of primaries and the consensus option in compliance with the provisions of Articles 20 (ii)a, (iii)a and 21(xi) of the APC Constitution.

He said that was done to ensure the emergence of real grassroots leaders and knowledgeable party men and women who could positively impact the lives of the people at the local level, make the much-needed difference in governance and deliver dividends of democracy to our people.

“This is what we need to complement the wonderful work Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has been doing.
The process had started from the Stakeholders’ Meeting where the decision on the modality for the election and other decisions were taken and ratified,” he recalled.


Speaking on the trailed the exercise, Afikuyomi, while admitting such, declared that no system was devoid of its problems and challenges, adding that, “Disputes and disagreements are necessary fallouts of democratic processes.”

“No system is infallible. In the extant case, in a few areas where there have been disagreements arising from the process, these have been resolved through the conflict-resolution mechanism we put in place.

“It must be pointed out, however, that if these internal squabbles and arguments were found to have been heated in APC, this should be understandable. It can only be because all the aspirants and contenders know that once they get the party’s ticket, they are as good as elected as chairmen and councillors.

“There was generally a rat-race for these positions. Truth is APC has no opposition in Lagos State,” he asserted.

The senator, therefore, thanked the APC leadership for the confidence reposed in his committee by entrusting it such responsibility, saying it was a call to duty which the committee had discharged to the best of its abilities.